Embedded in space: LDRA tools for Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle Space Program

-- Control Engineering, 4/24/2008

Monks Ferry, Wirral, UK — Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMCO) has selected the LDRA tool suite to enable developers on the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) program to achieve its software development goals. Aimed at safely transferring astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon, Mars and other destinations beyond low earth orbit (LEO), the Orion CEV is a state-of-the-art human space flight system. LDRA, a provider of automated software verification, will enable Orion developers to achieve the stringent safety-critical standards required to ensure safe transfer of the astronauts.

NASA has awarded Lockheed and its subcontractors a multimillion-dollar contract for Orion’s development. Orion CEV will replace the space shuttle scheduled to be retired in 2010. Its first manned mission is targeted for 2014. 

LDRA Testbed, the process management tool at the core of the LDRA tool suite, forms the foundation of automated software verification. LDRA Testbed performs the code, quality and design reviews on the source code. It conducts test verification for code coverage, including statement, branch/decision, test path (LCSAJ), procedure/function call metrics and provides access to the Test Manager. 

TBrun, an automated unit testing tool includes a GUI interface that automates the production of test data vectors with test harness and stub generation completing automatically. By using the Object-box Mode, developers can create test cases for structural coverage of high-level source code and apply these exact same test cases to the corresponding object code. By being able to quickly identify violations, the company says, developers can improve the quality of code, reduce the errors found during formal testing, and help ensure on-time delivery within budget.

— Edited by C.G. Masi, senior editor
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